All-optical Format Research Articles

Fiber-optic parametric amplifier-based all-optical format conversion enabling optical networks interconnection with different modulation formats

A fiber-optic parametric amplifier (FOPA)-based all-optical format conversion (AOFC) scheme is proposed and numerically simulated to achieve optical networks interconnection with different modulation formats. In this scheme, the power transfer function (PTF) and the relative phase shift (RPS) functions between the input and output optical signals for the single-pump FOPA are derived and numerically analyzed. For the input 20 Gbps bipolar 4-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) signal, it can be converted into a BPSK signal (BPSK1) based on the power saturation characteristic of the PTF. By adjusting the input power of the input PAM4 signal, it can also be converted into a level-swapping PAM4 signal based on the single-pump FOPA. When the level-swapping PAM4 signal is sent into the single-pump FOPA with suitable power again, another BPSK signal (BPSK2) could also be generated. When the PAM4-to-BPSK format converter based on the single-pump FOPA is combined with the dual-pump FOPA (namely phase-sensitive amplifier, PSA), the 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) signal can also be de-aggregated into four BPSK signals or two quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals. The constellation diagrams, the power waveforms, the error vector magnitude (EVM) and the bit error rate (BER) of the relevant optical signals are measured to evaluate the scheme performance. The scheme can be deployed at the optical gateway to realize optical networks interconnection using different modulation formats.

All-Optical format conversion from PAM4 to QPSK based on non-degenerate Phase-Sensitive amplification and pump assisted nonlinear optical loop mirror

An all-optical format conversion (AOFC) scheme from 4-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) to quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) based on the non-degenerate phase-sensitive amplification (PSA) and the pump assisted nonlinear optical loop mirror (PA-NOLM) is proposed and numerically simulated for the first time. The input unipolar PAM4 signal with equal amplitude distance (UPAM4-A) is coupled with two input pump lights and injected into the symmetric interferometric fiber optic parameter amplifier (FOPA) to achieve the separation of the UPAM4-A and the new pump light generated at the signal frequency based on the non-degenerate PSA. When the filtered out UPAM4-A is coherent added with the new generated pump, the UPAM4-A signal to the biplolar PAM4 (BPAM4) signal. When the converted BPAM4 is sent into the PA-NOLM after adjusting its power, the BPAM4 signal could be converted into the QPSK signal. The error vector magnitude (EVM) and bit error ratio (BER) performance of the system are measured before and after AOFC with different input and receiver optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR). For the input UPAM4-A signal with an input OSNR of 27 dB, there is about 8.2 dB BER performance improvement in receiver OSNR for the final converted QPSK signal. Additionally, the proposed non-degenerate PSA configuration can be extended to realize the AOFC from one QPSK to two on–off keying (OOK) signals. The scheme can be applied in the optical gateway connecting the long-haul and the short-reach optical networks with suitable modulation formats.

Pump-Free and Reconfigurable All-Optical Modulation Format Conversion for MQAM Signals by Parallel Nonlinear Mach-Zehnder Interferometers

Pump-Free and Reconfigurable All-Optical Modulation Format Conversion for MQAM Signals by Parallel Nonlinear Mach-Zehnder Interferometers

All-Optical Modulation Format Conversions from PAM4 to QPSK and 16QAM Using Silicon-Rich Nitride Waveguides

Quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) formats are deployed in inter-data center networks where high transmission capacity and spectral efficiency are required. However, in intra-data center networks, a four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) format is deployed to satisfy the requirements for a simple and low-cost transceiver configuration. For the seamless and effective connection of such heterogeneous networks without an optical-electrical-optical conversion, an all-optical modulation format conversion technique is required. In this paper, we propose all-optical PAM4 to QPSK and 16QAM modulation format conversions using silicon-rich nitride waveguides. The successful conversions from 50-Gbps-class PAM4 signals to 50-Gbps-class QPSK and 100-Gbps-class 16QAM signals are demonstrated via numerical simulations.

Flexible All-Optical 8QAM Signal Format Conversion Using Pump Assisted Nonlinear Optical Loop Mirror

A flexible all-optical format interconversion scheme based on a pump assisted nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) is proposed and numerically simulated for the first time to our knowledge. In this scheme, input multi-Gbps 8QAM signals are divided into clockwise (CW) and counter-clockwise (CCW) components by a 3-dB optical coupler (OC), which also couples light from the input pump into the NOLM from the CCW direction. The numerical model of the pump assisted NOLM with CW and CCW optical paths is simplified using a nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). Optical signals in the upper MZI arm will be mainly affected by the self-phase modulation (SPM) effect when traversing the highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) and those in the lower MZI arm are impacted by cross-phase modulation (XPM) in addition to SPM when they experience the HNLF with the input pump light. When the upper-arm optical signal with SPM phase shift and the lower arm optical signal with SPM and XPM phase shifts are coherently mixed, a new converted 8QAM signal can be obtained. The power transfer function (PTF) of the pump assisted NOLM and the relative phase shift (RPS) between the input and the output optical signals are theoretically provided and verified. By only changing the input power of the 8QAM signal and the pump light, all-optical format interconversion of square-, standard- and star-shaped 8QAM signals can be achieved. Furthermore, the proposed scheme can achieve format conversion from the 30 Gbps square-shaped 8QAM signal to a 20 Gbps quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal. The scheme performance is analyzed via constellation diagrams, eye diagrams, the error vector magnitude (EVM) and the bit error rate (BER) of the optical signals. The scheme developed can be deployed in optical gateways to connect different optical networks by dynamically selecting their appropriate modulation formats.

All-optical wavelength and format conversion of DQPSK-to-PAM4 using DLI and pump assisted NOLM

An all-optical wavelength and format conversion scheme of 20 Gbps differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK)-to-4-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) signals based on the delay line interferometer (DLI) and the pump assisted nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) is proposed and numerically simulated. The input DQPSK signal is converted into two star-16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (star-16QAM) signals (namely, star-16QAM-I and star-16QAM-Q) using DLI with the time delay of 1-symbol and different linear phase shifts of π/4 and −π/4, respectively. The star-16QAM signals are converted into the on-off keying (OOK) signals (namely, OOK-I and OOK-Q) using the pump assisted NOLM based on the self-phase modulation (SPM) and the cross-phase modulation (XPM) in the highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). The two OOK signals can be aggregated into different types of PAM4 signals by adjusting their power ratio (PR) and relative phase shift (RPS) flexibly. Error vector magnitude (EVM) and bit error rate (BER) for the input and output optical signals are calculated to verify the scheme performance. Compared to the DQPSK signal with an input optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of 30 dB, there are about 2.5 dB penalty of receiver OSNR for the converted OOK-I and OOK-Q signals. For the corresponding aggregated equidistant PAM4 and equiamplitude PAM4 signals, they have about 6.3 dB and 12.1 dB penalty of receiver OSNR. The proposed scheme of DQPSK-to-PAM4 can be deployed at the all-optical gateway to bridge the long-hual and short-reach optical networks.

All-Optical Rapid Formation, Transport, and Sustenance of a Sessile Droplet in a Two-Dimensional Slit with Few-Micrometer Separation.

We present a sessile droplet manipulation platform that enables the formation and transport of a droplet on a light-absorbing surface via local laser-beam irradiation. The mechanism relies on solutocapillary Marangoni flow arising from a concentration gradient in a binary mixture liquid. Because the mixture is strongly confined in a two-dimensional slit with a spacing of a few micrometers, the wetting film is stably sustained, enabling the rapid formation, deformation, and transport of a sessile droplet. In addition, to sustain the droplet in the absence of laser irradiation, we developed a method to bridge the droplet between the top and bottom walls of the slit. The bridge is stably sustained because of the hydrophilicity of the slit wall. Splitting and merging of the droplet bridges are also demonstrated.

Reconfigurable all-optical format conversion for 16QAM/8QAM by employing PSA in HNLF.

Extensive investigations are undertaken on the feasibility of utilizing phase sensitive amplification (PSA) in highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) to achieve a reconfigurable 16QAM/8QAM all-optical format conversion for optical data center networks. A comprehensive theoretical model is developed and subsequently verified, based on numerical simulations undertaken to explore the effectiveness of the nonlinear effects of phase insensitive amplification, PSA, and self phase modulation for the proposed all-optical format conversion scheme. It is demonstrated that the proposed scheme can achieve a reconfigurable all-optical format conversion from a 16QAM signal to two quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals or from an 8QAM signal to one QPSK signal and one binary phase shift keying signal with data rates of 92Gbps and 69Gbps for 16QAM and 8QAM signals, respectively.

Transmission characteristics of all-optically converted QPSK and 16QAM signals

Various types of all-optical modulation format conversions have been proposed for realizing low latency and efficient connection of networks that have different modulation formats. All-optical PAM4 to QPSK and 16QAM modulation format conversions using an HNLF and NOLM have been demonstrated for connecting data center networks. However, there has been no study on the transmission characteristics of the converted signal over a long distance. In this study, we numerically investigate the spectral efficiency and transmission characteristics of the QPSK and 16QAM signals generated by the all-optical modulation format converters. The all-optically converted 50 Gbps class QPSK and 100 Gbps class 16QAM signals require a bandwidth of 55 GHz to maintain the EVM below 10%. We demonstrate that the converted QPSK and 16QAM signals can be transmitted up to 19,500 km and 4,000 km, respectively, in both single and 8 channels transmission by preserving the sufficient channel spacing of 62.5 GHz. Because the transmission distance of the typical inter-data-center network is shorter than 200 km, the converted signals are applicable to inter-datacenter networks. Moreover, the QPSK and 16QAM signals converted from PAM4 signals after 40 km transmission in an intra-data center network are valid for transmission in inter-data-center networks.

All-Optical Regeneration and Format Conversion for 4APSK Signals Based on Nonlinear Effects in HNLF

An all-optical format conversion and regeneration scheme about 4-ary amplitude and phase shift keying (4APSK) signals is proposed and numerically simulated based on nonlinear effects in the high nonlinear fiber (HNLF). The input 4APSK signal is firstly converted into a regular quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal by the nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on the self-phase modulation (SPM). Secondly, a degenerate phase-sensitive amplification (PSA) based on the four-wave mixing (FWM) is utilized to convert the regular-QPSK into two binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signals. The nonlinear MZI configuration is also used to compress the amplitude noise of BPSK. Thirdly, one phase shifter and one variable optical attenuator (VOA) are used to adjust the relative phase and power relationships of the two amplitude-regenerated BPSK signals. The regenerated 4APSK and converted QPSK signals can be generated in one 3-dB optical coupler through coherent addition of the two regenerated BPSK signals. The error-vector-magnitude (EVM) and the bit-error-rate (BER) are calculated and compared to evaluate the scheme performance. The proposed scheme can be applied as an optical regenerator or format convertor at the network gateway to increase the transmission distance or connect optical networks with different modulation formats.

All-Optical Format Conversion for Star-8QAM Signals Based on Nonlinear Effects in Elastic Optical Networks

An all-optical format conversion (AOFC) scheme for star-octal quadrature amplitude modulation (star-8QAM) signals is proposed and numerically simulated based on nonlinear effects in the high nonlinear fiber (HNLF). In the first stage AOFC processing, the input 30 Gbit/s star-8QAM signal is firstly de-aggregated into one 20 Gbit/s quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal and one 10 Gbit/s typical on-off keying (OOK) signal by deploying the self-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase modulation (XPM) and parametric amplification (PA) effects. In the second stage AOFC processing, the 20 Gbit/s QPSK signal and the 10 Gbit/s typical OOK signal are aggregated into one 30 Gbit/s star-8QAM signal again by utilizing the XPM and PA effects. Moreover, the amplitude ratio (AR) between the outer ring and inner rings of the aggregated star-8QAM signal can be adjusted flexibly by changing the QPSK and OOK signals power. Other octal modulation formats can also be generated through changing the QPSK and OOK signals power, including the rectangular 8QAM signals, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pi$</tex-math></inline-formula> /4-8QAM signals and 8-ary phase shift keying (8PSK) signals. Error vector magnitude (EVM) and bit error ratio (BER) for star-8QAM signals before and after AOFC are measured to analyse the scheme performance. The AOFC scheme provides the flexibility to adopt the appreciate modulation formats at the optical nodes to connect different optical networks.

All-optical modulation format conversion between 16-PSK and 8-PSK in elastic optical network

All-optical modulation format conversion between 16-PSK and 8-PSK in elastic optical network

All-Optical Format Conversion of 2-Dimensional MQAM to MPSK Based on Nonlinear Mach-Zehnder Interferometer With Wavelength Preservation

An all-optical format conversion scheme of 2-dimensional multiple-quadrature amplitude modulation (MQAM) to multiple-phase shift keying (MPSK) signals is proposed and numerically simulated by using the nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) configuration with wavelength preservation. The input octal-quadrature amplitude modulation (8QAM) signal is generated through the phase modulator (PM) and amplitude modulator (AM) and injected into the nonlinear MZI configuration. The designed nonlinear MZI configuration includes two 3 dB optical couplers (OCs), a piece of high nonlinear fiber (HNLF) and a variable optical attenuator (VOA) in the upper interfering arm and a piece of standard single mode fiber (SSMF) or tunable optical delay line (TODL) and a variable phase shifter (VPS) in the lower interfering arm. The converted octal-phase shift keying (8PSK) signal can be obtained from the nonlinear MZI configuration through vector superposition between the input optical signal and itself with some nonlinear phase shift. The needed asymmetric nonlinear phase shift is mainly induced by the big nonlinear index difference between HNLF and SSMF. The error vector magnitude (EVM) and bit error rate (BER) performance of the scheme are calculated before and after format conversion with the different input and receiver optical-signal-noise-ratios (OSNRs). The scheme can be used in the intermediate node to connect the different networks which adopt 8QAM and 8PSK signals, respectively.

Modeling of all-optical modulation format conversion from amplitude-shift keying to phase-shift keying using a vertical cavity quantum wells absorber

A theoretical model for all-optical modulation format conversion from amplitude-shift keying (ASK) to phase-shift keying (PSK) has been proposed using a reflective vertical cavity semiconductor saturable absorber (R-VCSSA). The R-VCSSA is a nonlinear device. The phase response of the device has been studied numerically with different input intensities. It has been observed from the simulated result that a maximum phase of ± π / 2 with the reflected signal could be obtained by properly adjusting the input intensity. The conversion of an intensity-modulated return-to-zero (RZ) signal to a binary phase-shift keying signal has been analyzed based upon the simulated result. The pump signal is considered to be an intensity-modulated RZ signal with wavelength fixed at the cavity resonance of the R-VCSSA device, and a cavity-detuned continuous-wave source is used as a probe signal to carry out this operation. This device could be employed in all-optical future networks as an all-optical nonlinear signal converter for ASK to PSK conversion.

All-Optical Formation and Manipulation of Microbubbles on a Porous Gold Nanofilm.

Microbubble generation and manipulation in aqueous environments are techniques that have attracted considerable attention for their microfluidic and biological applications. Ultrasonic and hydrodynamic methods are commonly used to form and manipulate microbubbles, but these methods are limited by the relatively low precision of the microbubble sizes and locations. Here, we report an all-optical method for generation and manipulation of microbubbles with ~100 nm precision by using “hot spots” on a porous gold nanofilm under the illumination of near-infrared focused laser beam. The microbubble diameter ranged from 700 nm to 100 μm, with a standard deviation of 100 nm. The microbubbles were patterned into two-dimensional arrays, with an average location deviation of 90 nm. By moving the laser beam, the microbubbles could be manipulated to a desired region. This work provides a controllable way to form and manipulate microbubbles with ~100 nm precision, which is expected to have applications in optofluidic and plasmonic devices.

Tunable all-optical format conversion for BPSK to OOK based on highly nonlinear optical loop mirror

A scheme is proposed for tunable all-optical format conversion from BPSK to OOK signal without active phase locking under the highly nonlinear loop structure. The 20 Gbit/s BPSK is mapped to two-level amplitude signal by delay interferometer (DI). One carrier branch generated locally remodulates the amplitude information to phase based on cross-phase modulation (XPM) effect in the highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). The other carrier propagates as a pump under symmetrical loop ensuring the stability of phase relationship. After interference and vector shifting in coupler, the wavelength-tunable OOK is obtained. Benefiting from the signal remodulation mechanism and symmetric loop setup, separate carrier extraction and additional phase-locking are not required. The feasibility of the scheme is demonstrated by constellation diagram, eye diagram and pattern transformation diagram in numerical simulations. At the BER of 10−3, the converted OOK has ∼0.7 dB and ∼1.9 dB optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) improvement, respectively, compared to back-to-back (B2B) OOK under different quality of input signals. It is shown that the scheme optimizes the signal quality while converting signal formats. For low-quality BPSK with OSNR of 15 dB, the system indicates better noise tolerance. Furthermore, the scheme has potential scalability to bidirectional format conversion between BPSK and OOK.

All-optical modulation format conversion from star-QAM to PSK and ASK signals

An all-optical modulation format conversion scheme from star-QAM to ASK and PSK signals is proposed by employing four-wave mixing (FWM) in highly nonlinear fibers. The phase modulation information of star-QAM signal is firstly converted to the PSK format by a degenerate FWM process under gain saturation, and then the amplitude modulation information of star-QAM signal is mapped into the ASK format by means of a non-degenerate FWM associated with the resulting PSK signal. The detailed signal processing is presented by theory and simulation. As examples, the bit-error-ratio performances of 8QAM and 16QAM signals are evaluated by a non-degenerate FWM-based aggregation scheme for ASK and PSK formats.

All-Optical Modulation Format Conversion Between OOK, QPSK, and 8QAM

Modulation format conversion is useful when the signal is transmitted through networks employing different modulation formats. It is also expected to increase the spectral efficiency and reduce power consumption in network nodes by applying all-optical signal processing to the modulation format conversion. In this paper, we propose an all-optical modulation format conversion system between on - off keying, quadrature phase-shift keying, and 8-ary quadrature amplitude modulation using optical nonlinear effects in semiconductor optical amplifier and optical threshold device. We also evaluate the conversion performances of the system by numerical simulation in terms of optical signal-to-noise ratio, optical signal power, and accumulated chromatic dispersion.

All-Optical Modulation Format Conversion and Applications in Future Photonic Networks

All-Optical Modulation Format Conversion and Applications in Future Photonic Networks

Design of All-Optical Modulation Format Converter From One 8PSK to Two QPSK Signals Based on Phase Sensitive Amplification in Elastic Optical Network

Flexible conversion between modulation formats enables intelligent grooming techniques for an elastic optical network (EON) aimed at dynamical spectral efficiency allocation in optical fiber transmission. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate an all-optical modulation format conversion scheme between an 8-ary phase shift keying (8PSK) signal and two quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals based on phase-sensitive amplification in highly nonlinear fiber. Benefiting from two simultaneous but different phase-squeezing processes, the two QPSK signals can be obtained simultaneously to avoid the loss of original information. The system transfer functions show the feasibility of the proposed scheme, and the system performance is evaluated by input-output constellations, calculated error vector magnitude (EVM), and bit error rate (BER) in numerical simulation. At BER of 3.8 × 10 -3 , about 5-dB optical signal-to-noise-ratio (OSNR) improvement between the input 8PSK signal and output QPSK signals can be observed. Furthermore, several potential applications in optical fiber transmission can also be found based on the converter.